The New Guy
by knockout34
Summary: New Assignment verse. The name Nikki Betancourt was familiar to anyone at LAPD: everyone knew she was a good cop but came with an attitude. So Kailey wasn't surprised when the new agent seemed to be struggling during her first few weeks with the team. But what Kailey didn't count on was being caught in the middle of it all.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: References to season 5 episodes ****_High Exposure_**** and ****_The Decoy Effect_****. I don't own Numb3rs.**

"Someone's been assigned," David told Kailey and Colby, holding up a file as he walked into the bullpen.

"Already?" Colby asked. "It's been, what? A week and a half?"

"Megan told the director her leaving date way before she informed any of us," Kailey reminded them. "He was probably looking for a while. So what are we looking at? Fresh blood or a transfer?"

"Fresh blood," David said. "A Nikki Betancourt."

"Really?" Kailey smiled.

"You know her?" Colby asked.

"Oh yeah, LAPD. Wow," she said.

"What?" David asked.

"It's going to get interesting."

"Yeah?"

"Nikki is a very good cop. I don't know what went down but after her first assignment she got to choose whatever division she wanted. Pretty high arrest rate, not afraid of anything."

"Well, that's good, but I don't see how that's 'interesting'," Colby said.

"Ha, well, Nikki was known for one other thing around LAPD: attitude towards authority," Kailey said.

"What do you think? There's going to be a clash?"

"Hey, Don's a good boss, no doubt. In other circumstances I'd say it'd be fine. But Nikki is a huge risk-taker and she can be impulsive. And even though Don does that himself…"

"Yeah, this should be interesting," Colby agreed.

N3N3N3N3N3

Kailey sighed as she waited for the elevator doors to close. She wasn't a rock climber, but she had her own outdoor hobbies and the case had made her want to get out again. However, all of her free time was being spent helping her uncle. She didn't resent it, he _was_ getting better, but the case had made her realize how much of her precious vacation time had been spent in the last several months. And, on top of everything else, there were side comments made about Nikki during the case, mostly by Don. Kailey was not only upset that Don didn't seem to be giving the new agent a chance, but also that Don seemed to think that because Kailey knew Nikki from LAPD, she was suddenly an expert on the woman.

The elevators doors closed in front of her, but she looked up from the floor as they stopped, opened again, and Ian Edgerton joined her.

"Hey, thanks for sticking around," she said.

"It's always fun," he smiled. "We didn't get a chance to chat, Danvers, how are you holding up?"

"Some days are better than others. Actually, I can't help but be slightly envious of whatever wilderness your next manhunt takes you to."

Ian laughed.

"It's not too late for you to switch departments."

"Nah, not sure I could do it all the time," she grinned.

"Everyone has their calling," he agreed. "So you knew Betancourt before?"

"Yeah, LAPD. Good cop, glad she's here."

"Don doesn't seem sure."

"You really surprised?" Kailey asked him. "Given everything that's happened, Don's not in the mood for a rookie."

Ian laughed again.

"Yeah, the Eppes boys need to get their act together; I don't understand why Charlie doesn't have his clearance back already."

"We're all wondering," Kailey said, shaking her head. "And obviously you heard Megan up and quit."

"Yeah, another thing Eppes still needs to learn. It's not his fault, some people just aren't meant to be lifers."

Kailey nodded and sighed.

"I just hope he gets that soon; I've already heard him complain too much about Nikki."

"He'll get over it," Ian reassured her as the elevator doors opened and they walked out into the lobby. "And I agree with you, I'm glad Betancourt's here too."

Kailey couldn't quite read the look on the sniper's face, but before she had a chance to ask him, he walked around the corner and disappeared. Shaking her head, Kailey made her way to her car. She half-wished that he would stick around; at least there would be someone else who didn't mind the new agent.


	2. Chapter 2

Kailey had been glad when she was due for a training class. It was time away from the the work, but while still getting paid. Or, at least she thought she was getting away. She had heard bits and pieces of the last case from David and Colby, but was now getting an earful from Don over the phone. She rolled her eyes as he took another deep breath and continued his ranting. Knowing Nikki's reputation, it didn't surprise her at all that the new agent had taken some risks during the case. But, she also knew that Nikki was not the first nor would she be the last to play it close. Kailey was surely guilty of it, so were Colby and Liz. _Hell, _she thought, _I know times when David and Megan cut it too close for comfort_. And this was not to mention the amount of times Don had crossed the line over the past several months.

"I don't know if she's a good fit; might be best for her to join another team," Don told her over the phone.

"Too bad that's not your decision to make," Kailey replied, a little colder than she wanted it to be. "Look, Don," she said calmly when he didn't respond, "Nikki had a lot of leash at LAPD and she earned every bit of it. She's a good cop. But LAPD is a lot different than the FBI. She needs time to get used to the new policies and having a new boss and team. I know there's a lot of stuff going on, but you need to give her a chance."

There was another pause. Kailey knew that Megan's departure and the whole thing with Charlie was a lot to handle, but that didn't mean he needed to take it all out on Nikki.

"Well, it didn't take you this long to figure it all out," Don finally replied. Kailey sighed.

"Don, I worked the K-9 squad on LAPD. Their rules and dynamics are completely different than regular cop work, FBI or not. I was prepared for the changes. But not everyone realizes that there are major differences going from local to federal."

"I guess."

"Look, I'll talk to her; hell, I'll personally take responsibility for her if you need me to. But please stop calling me to bitch about her. She is my friend afterall," she added, grinning as she pictured the face Don as probably making right now.

"Gah, yeah, I'm sorry. I know, I shouldn't be putting you in the middle of all this."

"Alright, just, try to understand her point of view. But yeah, you'll probably have to be a little harder on her than the rest of us; that's just the way she operates. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

N3N3N3N3N3

"I wasn't even in distress; I had it handled. I thought a few more seconds and we could get some more info on the boss. And now I'm on damn phone duty?! I didn't sign up for the FBI to deal with this shit! And David and Colby? They gotta think I'm an idiot. And they wouldn't even ask me directly if I was okay."

"They took you out for drinks, didn't they?" Kailey asked calmly.

"Yeah, well, all David tried to do was tell me how to act around Don. Not really great conversation."

Kailey sighed as she watched Nikki pace back and forth in her apartment. It hadn't been ten minutes between hanging up with Don and Nikki knocking on her door. She was really tired, but she knew that her friend needed to get this out. She hesitated, but then decided to tell Nikki about her conversation with Don.

"Look, Nik, you gotta just chill, okay?" she said. "You've gotta understand everything that's happened over the last few weeks. I've already talked to Don about it, you're gonna be fine."

"Yeah? What'd he say?"

"Just doesn't understand why you're having so much trouble adjusting and I didn't."

"Yeah, I'd kinda like to know that too."

"I had a lot of trouble, but I expected totally different policies because that's the difference between the dogs and field work. You went from one field work to another; I think it's understandable…..especially given your track record with superiors."

"Yeah, thanks," came the sarcastic response. "You really think this will blow over though?"

"If you calm down a bit, yeah, totally. Listen to David, too, he's been around Don the longest and knows what he's talking about. The boys just like to give everyone a hard time, newbie or not."

"You sure?"

"Positive."


End file.
